Some Spice

What is it that makes a day worth getting up for?

There have been a number of days lately where I’ve hit snooze more times than I can count. It’s not that I want to hide from what’s ahead or get more sleep… I guess it’s just that question we all probably ask (or do we?)… “what’s the point?” Why get up now? I’ll be to stiff to exercise. It won’t do much that much good to get to work 30 minutes early. If I wait a few more minutes my wife will make the coffee.

What is it that makes those days different from days like today, where I’ve gotten even less sleep, but by the time 8AM rolls around, I’ve already ran 3 miles, taken care of the farm, downed over a quart of water, listened and meditated on some good stuff for my heart, and only started to touch my cup of coffee?

It would be great is this was “normal.” If this was easy, simple, and automatic. But you know what, I think if it was, then I could just switch the two days… instead of being aggravated by sleeping in, I’d be aggravated by how driven I am. Instead of relishing in a morning of activity, I’d peacefully enjoy some needed rest. As with so many things in life, I do believe a lot of it comes down to balance. Seasons. Variety. But you know what, I think there’s another thing I want:

I guess I’d call it Spice. Flavor.

I want something that pulls me out of bed in the morning and keeps my brain engaged for just a couple minutes after I hit the pillow. I want to dream. I want mystery. I want intrigue. I want risk, success, and even failure.

I was reminded of much of this – put it back in perpective, I guess, after starting to work my way through a short series called The Four Streams by John Eldredge, which is currently being offered up by the Daily Audio Bible as a virtual class. There was a line in the session I was listening to that said: “There’s little you can do for a man that doesn’t really care.” That’s so true. I know many of those men. I have BEEN that man, and sometimes venture back to that dark place. It’s lonely. It’s depressing. But you don’t need anyone else to go there. It somehow just sucks you in and holds you down, in a way that really doesn’t let you “see” the perspective of so many helpful people who honestly want to help.

I’ll be back sharing more of this series… maybe. Or maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll venture off into another realm of the wild. Who knows.